Softball tournament organizer Heimbigner steps down after 25 years
Players in the Superior Softball Tournament pose in front of a sign thanking Steve Heimbigner for 25 years of organizing the annual event. He is stepping down from that role this year. (Photo courtesy of Superior Softball)
Pickled Pike won first place in the C bracket at the Superior Softball Tournament on July 22. (Photo courtesy of Superior Softball)
In the B bracket, Man Bear Pigs won first place during the Annual Superior Softball Tournament held July 20-22. (Photo courtesy of Superior Softball)
The Yellow Scorpions won first place in the A bracket at the Superior Softball Tournament on July 22. (Photo courtesy of Superior Softball)
After 25 year, Steve Heimbigner, is hanging up his cleats and stepping down as the organizer for the annual S&S Foods and Nugget Lounge Softball Tournament held on July 20-22.
“I want to thank all the family and friends who have helped over the past 25 years and good luck to the group that’s taking over,” said Heimbigner. “I know it will be in good hands.”
At the time of the tournament, the tentative new group will be Charlie Richards from Superior; Niki Hibbert, who has been the running the umpires for the past decade; and Rich Hoffman from Missoula. Heimbigner graduated from Superior High School in 1990 and now lives in Savage, Minn., which is located in the Twin Cities area. He manages technicians and electricians at General Dynamics, and his folks still live in Superior.
“The tournament always gave me a reason to come back and see family and friends. But 25 years is enough and now my wife and I want to start coming back the weekend of the fair, and so we can attend that as well as do some golfing and fishing,” he said.
This year there was a full roster of 24 teams from as far away as Seattle and three local teams. In the past, they ran three fields and had up to 43 teams participate. But it proved to be too much and so the tournament was scaled back to 24 teams on two fields at Timbermans Fields in Superior.
The first two days of the tournament is a round robin or pool play. The teams — with names like Man Bear Pigs, Spin the Clown, Swamp Donkeys and Thunder Balls — are divided up as three teams per pool and end up in either the A, B or C bracket, and on Sunday, the final day of the tournament, they compete at their level for trophies and T-shirts, as well as bragging rights.
Team members can camp at the fields free of charge and enjoy the recreational opportunities the area has to offer, including fishing, hiking and floating the Clark Fork River. There are also a number of other events during the three-day tournament, including “Beer and Bases,” where participants chug a beer and run the bases, and the Home Run Derby, where winners got a new bat.
There was also a lot of old-fashioned comaraderie throughout the event since many of the teams return each year for the event and also travel to different tournaments throughout the area. This year, the Yellow Scorpions from Seattle won in the “A” bracket. Avalon finished in second place, and T-Ball Legends came in third; both team were from Couer d’Alene, Idaho.
In the “B” bracket, Man Bear Pigs from Helena won first place, Spokane’s Pitch Slap was second and TyeDyes from Kalispell earned third place. In the “C” bracket, Pickled Pike out of Bozeman/Superior won first-place honors.
Throughout the weekend, Heimbigner’s mother, Susan McDonald, helps run the concession stand. Funds raised are donated to a different charity each year. This year, they were donated to the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in honor of one of the member’s granddaughter, who recently underwent treatment for cancer.